State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) reported a 4% increase in its net income in the first half of 2018 reaching P2.76-billion compared to the P2.65-billion recorded during the same period last year, a top official said.

DBP president and chief executive officer Cecilia C. Borromeo attributed the increase to the expansion of its lending and deposit activities which registered a double-digit growth from January to June this year.

“We now have sufficient financial muscle to support our development banking activities and further assist critical sectors of the economy,” Borromeo said. “The rise in our net income is a testament to the efficacy of the reforms and innovation we have made during the past several months.”

DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country in terms of assets and has been designated as the country’s infrastructure bank by the National Government. It provides loans to strategic sectors such as infrastructure and logistics, small and medium enterprises, social services and community development, and the environment.

Borromeo said gross income was up by 10.73% to P12.18-billion from P11-billion while total assets grew 16% to P617.87-billion from the P533.76-billion registered last year.

She said that DBP’s total loan portfolio stood at P250.59-billion as of end-June this year with about P82.88-billion being channeled to the infrastructure and logistics sector.

“DBP also lent a total of P72.10-billion to government owned and controlled corporations, local government units and other private businesses while the agriculture sector received loans amounting to P40-billion,” Borromeo said.

“Projects in health care, education, and shelter received a total of P38.58-billion in funding assistance while P15.94-billion were released to environment projects,” she said.

Borromeo said the bank shall continue to expand its development lending activities in support of the government’s inclusive growth agenda.

Increase in Deposits

Borromeo said that total deposits increased by 25% from P344.4-billion to P431.65 billion with double digit growth in areas such as Northern Luzon (24.5%), Southern Luzon (23.4%), Metro Manila (21.9%), Central and Eastern Visayas (20.8%), and Northern Mindanao (21.3%).

She added that DBP is also seeking to further grow its deposit base by bringing in 400,000 new private depositors this year especially those residing in underserved and unbanked areas of the country with the launch of its deposit campaign with an incentive component for new depositors in the hopes of raising P4-billion in fresh deposits.